Community Choice

Electricity production is the single largest cause of global warming , air pollution and radioactive waste. By joining the statewide coalition to pass legislation to make "Community Choice" a viable option for municipalities to use in the fight against global warming, the County of Marin and the Town of Fairfax (which adopted the Community Choice resolution on February 1, 2000) are supporting a potential resource that could make real, quantifiable differences in the lives of their citizens and our environment. Sustainable Fairfax - an affiliate of Sustainable North Bay - proposed both these resolutions to the Marin County Board of Supervisors and Fairfax’s Town Council. Both organizations are backing the "Cities For Climate Protection" resolution at the county level.

In a unanimous vote, the Marin County Board of Supervisors passed the "Community Choice" resolution which its supporters call "the best hope yet for the global warming crisis." The Community Choice resolution asks for the statutory right, now illegal in California, of any California city or town to create a municipal purchasing cooperative whose members are the local residents and businesses, and whose founding member is the city or county government itself, with individuals and businesses free to opt out at any time. Supporters of Community Choice have included Ralph Nader, David Brower, CERT, and The Utility Reform Network (TURN).

Supervisor Hal Brown presented the "Community Choice" resolution by saying that this resolution "fits in very nicely with the County’s goals for sustainability particularly on the issue of global warming" and he encouraged the support from his colleague's. The towns and cities of California are the largest consumers of green power in the state. Many of them would like to also purchase green power on behalf of their citizens and businesses if only they had the right. San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley, and seven other municipalities in Los Angeles County as well as the Town of Fairfax joined the state coalition to support Community Choice legislation which passed both the California Assembly and the Senate 2002 session. These local governments view this legislation as very important because a town or city with this right can require a clean and renewable energy portfolio from its chosen electricity provider, thereby reducing its carbon dioxide emission levels.

The Community Choice bill now needs approval by Gov. Davis to become law, you can help by contacting Gov. Davis asking for him to pass this legislation and reminding your Marin elected officials to do the same. Gov Davis's phone number is 916-445-2841/fax 916-445-4633.

For more information, visit the American Local Power Project web site...

Check out the San Francisco Solar Project and other Local Power Projects in the Bay Area...

Sample Letter to Town Governments

Dear Mayor and Council Members,

Sustainable Fairfax is working to educate local Marin governments on a very important energy bill called Community Choice (Carole Migden SF-D), this bill is coming up before the California Senate Energy Committee in the next few weeks. Community Choice legislation authorizes local governments (City, County, and/or Contiguous Cities/Counties) voting to do so to contract for energy supply on behalf of ALL energy customers in their local jurisdiction (residential, commercial, government) excepting those opting to stay with incumbent utility (PG&E, Edison, etc.) or choose a new supplier. This bill has become law in the states of Massachusetts and Ohio, where it proved itself to be very effective and beneficial to the local governments and residents of those states within a few months of its passing. The background materials we have provided give the details of those benefits.

Sustainable Fairfax is the grassroots organization that initiated the passing of the Community Choice resolutions here in Marin, in order to support it becoming a California bill. The County of Marin and the Town of Fairfax both voted unanimously to pass the ‘Community Choice’ resolution in the early spring of 2000. We would like to give you the opportunity as local government officials to now help the County of Marin and the Town of Fairfax support bringing this important legislation to law. If passed, this law will provide local control over energy suppliers, allow municipalities to administer their pro- rata share of the State energy conservation funds, and creates a way for localities to make large scale reductions in their greenhouse gas emissions. Please take the time to review the background materials and call the State Representatives listed as well as those that you may have connections with. Also as Hal Brown was the Marin County Board member who brought the Community Choice resolution before the Board of Supervisors, he can provide additional information on how this bill directly benefits Marin County and how towns can work with County government to prepare for implementation of Community Choice upon it’s passing.

Local Power, who’s director Paul Fenn drafted and filed the original Community Choice law for Massachusetts in 1995, continues to provide technical support to the more than 30 California towns and cities who are asking for the Community Choice legislation to become a California law. Local Power’s website is www.local.org, they can be reached at tel. (510) 451-1727, fax (925) 377-0746, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or Julia Peters (Manager) This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Thank You for your time and energy,

Rebekah Collins
Co-founder Sustainable Fairfax
(415) 459-3768
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
www.sustainablefairfax.org